Southwest Florida Reading Festival kicks off in Fort Myers

Hundreds of children and their parents immersed themselves in the world of books at the 26th Annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival held at the Fort Myers Regional Library this weekend.

The free event invited everyone to participate, featuring food truck vendors and best-selling authors catering to all age groups.

“An event like this is the highlight of an author’s year, just to have kids come up and be excited about reading your books and talk about going home to read with their families. It’s pretty much the best,” said children’s author Kate Messner.

On Saturday, attendees buried their heads in books, including Lea Temple and her daughter, Jennessa, who have attended for the fourth year in a row.

“You get a lot more authors that come here. The first year we came, we did get a couple books signed, a lot of different activities, different books, just a different atmosphere every year,” said Lea Temple.

Jennessa Temple added, “Mostly everything if my mom lets me.”

Every child and teen received a free book to take home, with the opportunity to have it signed by their favorite authors, such as Molly Idle.

“Meeting with the kids is, I would say, my favorite part of the job,” said Idle.

Aspiring authors also joined the fun, including Celine Price, who shared her enthusiasm for the event.

“They had so many commercials. And so, like, wait a second, I wrote the children’s book that I really want to get out there,” said Price.

“It’s about the story of a smile, that the smile goes on a journey to overcome different emotions,” she continued.

Idle emphasized the importance of sharing stories with young readers.

“I mean, I love writing, and I love illustrating, but a book, a story, isn’t really a story until it’s shared with somebody or read by somebody, and so getting to be with the kids and share the story with them sort of completes that circuit,” said Idle.

Click here for more information.